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mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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Posted by
snoop92 (
My Page) on
Tue, May 25, 10 at 19:50
| Hi everyone....
While I was adding soil amendments to the soil in my earthtainers from last year, I noticed a lot of hard pale yellowish/orangish balls in the old soil. When squeezed, the ball cracks and liquid comes out.
Does anyone know what these are? I'm hoping it is benign. I mixed new soil with this old soil, in accordance with the earthtainer directions.
Thanks.
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| I have seen this in store bought mix before ,don't know what it's called ,but it is added to retain moisture .So it was in there last year too . |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| Possibly/probably a slow release fertilizer. Josh |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| Yep, I'd guess a slow release fertilizer prill, too. You'll find them in some potting mixes, and in plants purchased from the nursery. The yellow color comes from the sulfur sprayed on in the manufacturing process. Not all prills are yellow, though. Different manufacturing processes make a difference, as does a color 'coding' associated with how many months the product is supposed to last. You'll often find green prills in the containers of woody plants. It can last up to 12 months. |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| I agree with rhizo. If you find them close to the top of the soil and they are more translucent they may be snail eggs. When bringing potted plants into your garden it is a good idea to scratch around the surface of the soil to make sure you are not bringing more snails into your garden. Al |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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I think those are some eggs, too. What does it say on the new soil bag? If this is something added for additional moisture, I think it would say so on the bag. If it popped up in your own garden soil that you've had for a while, - it's a pest.
Ingrid |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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I still think fertilizer.
Slow release fertilizer is commonly added to bagged soils...moisture retention pellets are not. Also, if you squeeze a snail egg, guts shoot out.
A picture, of course, could put the question to rest.
Josh |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| We get questions every year about 'eggs' in the potting soil. They all turn out to be Osmocote, or other product. |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| I have also seen these "eggs" in potting soil. Sometimes they are Osmocote but that will eventually dissolve. The ones that stick around are a polymer water retention bead. I agree, a picture would help to identify. |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| Yes, I agree that a picture would help to solve the mystery. These balls are about the size of a pencil eraser..a tad smaller than that, and seem to be dispersed all throughout the soil. They have a hard exterior and when squeezed, crack easily and clear fluid comes out that looks like water. I will try posting a picture soon. Thanks to everyone for their feedback. I was wigged out when I saw these things everywhere and was/am really hoping it's not something alive and gross, especially since I mixed in new amendments to this existing soil. Thanks again. |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| Hehe while taking the soil out of a pot left over from the previous house owners I found lots of little yellow balls towards the bottom. I of course pinched one cause I thought they were solid. Talk about freaked out! I had to set that pot aside for a little bit because in my mind it was some alien type of egg lurking in my garage. (I watch a lot of horror movies LOL) |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| could be any of the above - or slug eggs. |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| Slug eggs the size of a pencil eraser ? Bring a saddle |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| here in the seattle area - yes. |
RE: mysterious liquid-filled yellowish balls in soil
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| i think they are moth eggs. last year when i planted indoor spring plants with fresh bags of soil, i too noticed these orbs. i squeezed one and saw the same thing. later into the season, all of a sudden, there were moths in my house. i then went to the plants and expelled as many as i could find of the orbs that appeared more and more frequent at the top of the soil. you'll notice they slowly creep up to the top of your soil after plantings. this is because the moth fetus move around in the orbs making them come up to the top. every bag of fertalizer i've used has them. you just have to pick them out by hand and discard them before they hatch. |
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